His wife, Carla Conigliaro, pleaded guilty to financial wrongdoing. She had an account in Florida, where she made 11 withdrawals in less than a month.

She was the majority owner of NECC, although neither of the Conigliaros had a day-to-day role at the pharmacy.

Carla and Douglas Conigliaro have been out on bail since their 2014 arrest. They were originally accused of illegally transferring more than $33 million during the investigation in an alleged attempt to hide assets.

They’re not charged with wrongdoing in the actual contamination of the steroids, which killed several dozen people and injured hundreds more.

Prior to the plea announcement Friday, trial was set to begin on Monday for the Conigliaros.

NECC meningitis victim J.R. Mazur told WCVB that news of the plea is the first step forward in the case in years.

"Maybe if the public can see these people for who they really are turning out to be, we can make progress towards healing," Mazur said.

Recently, victims' families raised concerns that the Dedham couple made 17 requests to travel out of state, all granted after the government raised no objections.

Most of the Conigliaros' trips were to travel by car or plane to watch their children play in squash and wrestling tournaments.

They have a child in each sport who is nationally ranked. One trip was a six-state college tour.